The Swat River (, ) is a perennial river in the northern region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

mountains, where it then flows into the Kalam Valley before forming the spine of the wider Swat Valley.

Name

The word Swat comes from the Sanskrit name ''Suvāstu'' which may mean "clear blue water." Another theory derives the word Swat from the Sanskrit word ''shveta'' (), also used to describe the clear water of the Swat River. To the ancient Greeks, the river was known as the ''Soastus.'' The Chinese pilgrim

Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...

referred to Swat as the ''Su-ho-to''.

Course

The Swat's source lies in the

mountains, from where it is fed by glacial waters throughout the year. From the high valleys of Swat Kohistan, the river begins at the confluence of the Usho, and Gabral rivers (also known as the Utrar River) at Kalam. From the confluence, the Swat river flows through the narrow gorges of the Kalam Valley until the city of Madyan. From there, the river courses gently for through the plain areas of the lower Swat Valley until Chakdara. In the extreme southern end of the Swat valley, the river enters a narrow gorge and joins the Panjkora River, at Qalangi before entering the

Peshawar Valley The Valley of Peshawar (; ) is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the c ...

. It finally terminates in

Kabul River The Kabul River (; ), the classical Cophen , is a river that emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It is separated from the watershed of the Helmand River by th ...

, near Charsadda.

Discharge

The average discharge at Munda is per second.

Economic impact

Swat River plays an important role in the economy of the valley. Lower reaches of the Swat and Malakand Valley are irrigated by a series of canals regulated by the Amandara Headworks - built by the British in 1903. The Upper Swat Canal flows under the Malakand Pass through Benton Tunnel, completed in 1914. Below Dargai, the Munda Headworks, built by the British in 1921, feed canals that supply numerous smaller canals in the districts of Charsadda,

Swabi Swabi (; ) is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located near the bank of the Indus River. It is the 73rd largest city of Pakistan and eighth largest in the province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Swabi is also a major city in ...

and Mardan in the

. The river also recharges water wells and springs through seepage.

Hydropower

Swat's waters are used for

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

generation at the Jabban Hydropower Plant (completed in 1938), and Dargai Hydropower Plant (completed in 1952). The Mohmand Dam, at the lower end of the Swat River's course before it enters into the

Peshawar valley The Valley of Peshawar (; ) is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the c ...

, has an installed generation capacity of 740 MW and is under construction. Proposed hydropower projects along the river's course are Asrit Kedam HPP, Gabral HPP and Matiltan HPP.

Gallery

File:Kalam 302.jpg, Upper reaches of the Swat River in the Kalam Valley File:Bahrain of Swat Valley, Pakistan.jpg, The town of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, built along the river File:01 Swat Valley.jpg, Lower reaches of the Swat River valley File:Amlok dara stupa2.jpg, The Amluk-Dara stupa, one of many ancient Buddhist sites scattered throughout the river's valley

References

* Book: Hidden Treasures of Swat,

External links

Swat Valley website
{{Authority control Rivers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Kabul River Swat District Rigvedic rivers Rivers in Buddhism Rivers of Pakistan